


Book of Sweets

by xenoshadel



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Character Death, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Heavy Angst, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 08:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3930226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoshadel/pseuds/xenoshadel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired prompt: Imagine person A doing little things for person B to remember them by, like filling a book with sketches or pictures. Person B found the book with things that reminded them of person A, only person A was gone, whether they were killed in battle or suffered a similar fate. A particular piece of the book would've tested the strength of person B and they'll try not to break down from the memories, though not even their willpower is strong enough to fight the pain...</p><p>The Shepherds looked up to the tactician as the one who bounded their ties together, but what if a tie was broken? A special tie that was always sweet to her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Book of Sweets

Worn pages filled with leaves and dog ears as bookmarks made up the tactician’s tomes. She would sigh when a certain leaf cracked from her touch or when the extra creasing made the ink difficult to read, but there was always something to use for the next time she’ll need to tap into the strategic text of hope and reassurance. Flipping through the pages, she searched for what the current bookmark was. Was it a small ribbon? A yellow flower petal? It actually wasn’t the simplest item she thought of when she stopped at the page.

It was a candy wrapper.

Robin heard snickering alongside a crinkling sound at the entrance of the tent and she saw the head of the wrapper’s owner peak through the flaps, a wide smile flashing at her. “Heyya Bubbles!”

Brown eyes rolled in amusement and she chuckled, “I shouldn’t be surprised about this, let alone the fact that you didn’t save the treat for me.”

“That’s why I’m the thief and you have the brains, Bubbles,” Gaius said, twisting open a confection in his hands. “Though said treat can easily be replaced with another one.”

Robin raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. “On what condition?”

“Nothing more than seeing your reaction on whatever _treat_ you might find next,” the thief teased, his grin growing at the sight of Robin fighting back a scowl, and he changed the topic before the tactician could reply with a snarky comeback. “Aside from me bursting your bubble, Blue wanted to know when you’re ready and wrapped up for the battle.”

“I would’ve been ready sooner if I wasn’t interrupted,” Robin said with a smirk. “Just a few more minutes to check on any notes that might be useful and I’ll be out.”

“Said the library of notes, but all right. We’ll be waiting for you, Bubbles.” Gaius shrugged and pushed through the flaps, leaving the chuckling tactician to shake her head and look back at her tome.

She took the wrapper between her fingers and pinched it, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger until she saw a dark smudge on the exposed fold. She held the wrapper to carefully open it and found a note scribbled from the familiar black ink of her writing quill, and it read, “Don’t be late, Bubbles!”

“ _Gaius_ ,” Robin breathed out a low sigh, picturing the smirk on his face if he were to see her reaction. No doubt he would be waiting for the next time she found another _treat_ in one of her tomes, and she scanned over the text before shutting the heavy book with the wrapper inside of it. She reached for her Thoron tome, slid a silver sword in the scabbard on her belt, and walked out to meet the faces of the waiting Shepherds.

Chrom shared her nod of approval to begin the march, and with the clank of armor and the faint shuffling of robes and capes, the Shepherds walked as one. The abandoned field of broken houses and shriveled trees came into view, and although it was at a distance, the growing mass of purple caught the silver-haired woman’s eyes. Her face set in determination, she looked around to see the firm expressions on the soldiers walking near her, watching the selected groups split away to a designated area. She caught the black cloak of Gaius, who glanced back to give her a wink and resumed in advancing towards the patient undead.

Red eyes stared at the Shepherds, unfazed by their numbers as the Risen made their first moves of offense. The plan was set, the swords unsheathed and the tomes opened, and thus started the dance of dodge and strike. A burst of fire accompanied by a gleaming lance, swords and axes fighting alongside each other, and the familiar crack of lightning echoing the field with the sky lighting up from its impact. Robin ducked from a pair of claws and slashed upwards, the Risen before her dematerializing from the silver blade lodged through its torso, and blocked an attack for Lissa before slicing through the enemy in a few successive hits. Block and stab, dodge and flip through the pages of a tome, these actions were repeated until Robin heard the yell of triumph from the prince. The Risen captain faded away before their eyes, and yet, the Risen continued to attack. More of them gripped their respected swords and lances as though the battle had just started for them, and small groups walked out of the forest and towards the battleground.

Robin narrowed her eyes at the sudden change of pace and gritted her teeth when she side-stepped from a poorly thrown javelin. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. Where did they come from?!”

“Robin?” Lissa called out, jumping back to cast a spell from her Arcwind tome. “There will be too many to fight if they keep coming like this!”

The tactician glanced back to see the sage’s worried eyes and she nodded, scanning the field for a few moments and noticing the faltering resistance of the Shepherds. Although their brows were furrowed and sweat beaded their foreheads, the reaction for defense will slow should they continue fighting, and her next set of action was confirmed when Chrom rode towards her on Frederick’s horse and peaked his head around the Great Knight.

“I’ll give the order to fall back, Robin. We can’t get around them if two more show up after the death of one Risen.”

Biting her lower lip to fight the frustration of her failed plan, she agreed and watched the soldiers regroup to run from the field. The Risen gazed at their retreated forms and the few Falcon Knights swooped towards them in an attempt to continue the fight. Robin noticed a flash of orange and felt Gaius matching her pace, frowning at the small claw marks that ran from his cheeks to his lower jaw.

Gaius read her expression and smirked, the stick of his lollipop pointing up. “I’m still a piece of eye candy, Bubbles. No worries!”

If it wasn’t for the dire time and place, Robin would have laughed or even chuckled, but that was also the moment where a Falcon Knight jumped from its pegasus and aimed its lance at the head of silver hair. Gaius caught the action from the corner of his eye and pushed the tactician out of the way, but the lance made its mark on its new target. The steel weapon lodged itself through his chest, the final breath taken, and a pair of red eyes stared indifferently at the thief’s collapse. If it had a moment of satisfaction, it was short-lived when the familiar blade of Falchion slashed through the Risen and won a broken cloud of purple particles. Chrom turned to help the stunned tactician up, who scrambled towards Gaius and fought back the building scream within her.

“No. No, Gaius… _No_.” Her voice cracked when she moved his pale face up, green eyes blank and unseeing. The twinkle they always had was gone, was washed away with the blood that continued to pour out of him, the lance still lodged in him. Robin gripped the weapon and threw it out of the way, desperately reaching towards him again until Chrom grabbed her arm.

“Robin, more of the Risen will reach us unless we leave now,” he said in a low voice, eyes narrowing at the distance.

“No, no,” Robin mumbled, straining towards the thief. “We have to get him out as well—“

“We can’t. I’m sorry that we have to leave him now but we have to _go_.” Chrom quickly picked her up before she made another step and ran towards Frederick’s horse. The Great Knight watched the scene with a grim look, his eyes hard in silent anger at the loss of a valuable Shepherd and he watched as Robin struggled against Chrom’s hold on her. She stretched her arm out to the fallen body as though she tried to reach him, tried to see if he’ll jump up with a grin and play it off as a joke of his.

Ah, but it wasn’t a joke. The body remained and grew smaller when Chrom forced her on the horse and they galloped away. She didn’t look away until her eyes brimmed with tears and she willed them not to spill down her cheeks, not in front of those that needed her the most. It wasn’t because of the Risen that stopped moving, or the way the twilight sky gave the field an ominous look. It was from the distinct shine of a piece of colorful foil that rolled away with the light breeze.

“No, no, no,” Robin repeated to herself in a hushed voice, shaking her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. The sickening sound of steel slicing through flesh echoed in her ears, the familiar smirk replaced with a slack mouth shook her core, and yet her cheeks remained dry. She flinched when Chrom tapped on her shoulder, opening her eyes again to see the conflicted look on his face.

“Robin… We’ll find a way to reach the village tomorrow. I’ll tell everyone that you decided to cancel the meeting for tonight,” he said, straining himself to keep the composure of a leader despite the pain in his blue eyes. “Just… I’ll see you in the morning, all right?”

She blinked herself to reality when she caught the tents of the campground behind him, and she nodded. “Sure thing, Chrom,” she replied, silently relieved that her voice didn’t tremble from her quiet words.

She gave him a fragile smile and hopped off the horse, her boots quickly tapping against the ground as she headed towards her tent. The murmurs of the Shepherds were chorused as one as they watched the tactician walk under the darkening sky. A few fiddled with their weapons to distract themselves, but if there was one thing they believed, it was that the strength of the person they respected couldn’t be broken, not from the broken string between her and a loved one.

Or so they thought.

Alone in her tent, hearing nothing more than the absence of a wrapper crinkling at the entrance. Robin closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Keep it together for the Shepherds, she thought. After all, what other hope could she bring if they poured all their faith in her, if they had yet to see tears escape from her eyes? Tears trailing from the eyes that narrowed in scrutiny and determination… such a sight must be concealed if she was the one who bounded the delicate ties between her and the people that depended on her. Robin knew of the strength she must retain, and she reached for the strategy book on her desk, the one she remembered using a triangular leaf as a bookmark. But when she flipped through the pages, she didn’t see the familiar shape of the leaf, but instead its replacement:

A candy wrapper.

The wrapper of her favorite chocolate, to be exact, and the wrapper whose previous owner didn’t get the chance to keep in his collection of wrappers for her. She forced herself to smile when her eyes started to well up with unshed tears, her fingers gently brushing against the colorful foil until she noticed a black mark on the corner of the wrapper where the seal was broken. She unfolded it to reveal familiar handwriting smudged from the ink of her quill, another secret message that would never be answered.

“Hang in there, Robin,” it read.

Words of encouragement that broke the wall of her spiraling heart. The words blurred together when a single teardrop fell onto the wrapper, the smile trembling under her willpower as more tears trailed down her cheeks. That was another promise she couldn’t keep, whether it was meant to be another message for the day or even his final wish.

“Keep it together, Robin,” she murmured to herself in shaky breaths as she slid the wrapper up the crease of the book, closing it while keeping the wrapper in place and in sight. “Hang in there, Robin.”

She repeated the phrase a few times, each time spoken quieter than the previous one while she hugged the book to her chest, gently rocking herself on her chair until she couldn’t speak, until the words were replaced with heaving sobs wracking all over her body. More tears fell from her cheeks as she tightened her grip on the book, letting the strength she was known for having trickle away with the moon as her only witness.

Maybe there was a reason why tears were salty instead of sweet…

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired prompt was from the lovely Tumblr blogger [@epic-artist-nerd!](http://epic-artist-nerd.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Hoowee. What a trip to write. The blogger is awesome for the idea though, and you should definitely check her out! Thanks to all who read and survived this! This work can also be seen on my Tumblr page [@xenoshadel](http://xenoshadel.tumblr.com/). I also have a [ko-fi page](http://ko-fi.com/A35327K1/) if anyone ever wants to leave me a tip!


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